City in the Bay of Time
by RahXephon
Summary: Brockton Bay. A city in decline, of rusting boats and clashing capes. Perhaps sensing a threat, the Simurgh has cast the entire city into the vagaries of time and space. Now displaced in a world with strange creatures and cut off from modern civilization, the city must rebuild their society and prevent its capes from tearing it apart. Brockton Bay must stand together or burn.
1. Founding 1

**City in the Bay of Time**

Founding 1.1

* * *

It was the shortest Endbringer battle ever. Battle casualties were low, due to the fact that there wasn't a battle to begin with. To all appearances, the Simurgh had descended far faster than everyone previously thought, assembled a Tinker device with unprecedented speed from parts lifted from a nearby lab, and completed her sorcery before the first heroes even finished teleporting in. By the time Alexandria had changed into her costume and took a lift from a nearby teleporter, the devious Endbringer already turned tail.

They were too late.

"Up to three hundred and fifty thousand people... all gone." Legend lamented.

The Triumvirate hovered helplessly as they stared at the perfectly spherical hole carved out of New England's placid coastline. A place once occupied by a declining, albeit functional city.

"Dozens of capes are gone as well." Alexandria noted sourly. "Armsmaster was one of our more foremost Tinkers in our ranks. We'll be even more dependent on Dragon after this. It's a disaster."

Eidolon on the other hand boiled with barely concealed emotion. "This is a new low. The Simurgh has always been insidious, but accomplishing the entire annihilation of a city before we can even mobilize is something even we can't fight against."

Startled, Legend turned to his comrade. "It doesn't look like Brockton Bay is destroyed. It's more as if... it's sliced away. To somewhere else."

"But where?" Alexandria asked, before shaking her head. Unless it turned up somewhere else in Earth Bet or Aleph, it wouldn't concern them any further. "More importantly, why?"

That was a question no one had an answer for. Alexandria suspected something in the city had the Simurgh spooked, but whatever it was she couldn't say. What mattered now was that the Endbringers succeeded again, making the world a darker place once more.

Still, the people of Earth Bet were too acquainted with loss and suffering to care for long. Soon enough the people of the world forgot about Brockton Bay, just like they did Kyushu or Newfoundland. Earth Bet had too many tragedies to stand still for a single city.

* * *

"Urghh.. did anyone get a number on the truck that hit us?" Alec moaned as he came back to consciousness.

The rest of the Undersiders quickly followed. Taylor wobbled to her feet. "What... what happened? Oh shit, the Endbringer sirens! They were screaming for only a second before.. before that explosion!"

Rachel only shifted around uncertainly, sniffing the air of their cozy little loft as if there was something deadly nearby. Since nothing happened, everyone soon enough turned to Lisa, who still sat dazed on the ground.

"Hello? Earth to Lisa? Anyone home?" Taylor asked, and then lightly tapped their erstwhile mastermind's shoulder.

That snapped the blond girl into action. Tattletale practically leapt past Taylor and bounded towards the exit. She ripped it open, letting bright sunlight stream into their base. Taylor and the rest of the Undersiders followed quickly, but were halted for the same reason Tattletale stood paralyzed.

The world had changed.

"What.. the... hell?"

The city looked normal. Besides the lack of power everywhere, Brockton Bay looked as normal as it could be, as if an Endbringer never touched it at all. Yet even a casual observer would become more uneasy the more they watched their surroundings.

The world hadn't ended. The sky was still blue and there was still a veritable ocean of water out in the bay.

What differed were the birds that gracefully dotted the sky. Instead of placid seagulls and other harmless forms of life, the sky sported very menacing looking reptilian fliers. Much like dragons.

"God.. They're the size of busses.."

At least they behaved skittishly, unwilling to fly downwards and snack on a few errant humans.

There were other signs of differences. The sea smelled a little bit _different_, as if it was not the Atlantic Sea the residents were familiar with. The climate grew noticeably chiller. Everyone knew in their heart that something was horribly wrong.

Screams erupted nearby, and it seemed the entire city jolted back into action. People were coming out of their powerless abodes full of confusion and fright.

The peace didn't last long. Already people were either arguing among themselves or moving with determined purpose.

"Shit.." Tattletale muttered. "People are starting to figure out they're not in Kansas anymore. They're going to loot all the shops and hoard every last scrap of food. We should probably lay low and—"

A sharp scream echoed the dingy street as some gang member brutally ripped a woman's grocery bag. Skitter moved forward before Tattletale could restrain her. "Shit. There goes miss do-gooder."

"As far as I'm concerned, an Endbringer did this. The truce is still in effect." Grue stated, then gestured everyone to follow. "We're backing Skitter up."

With no choice, the rest of the Undersiders proceeded to calm the nerves as best they could with their limited reach. Skitter was the most effective member in doing so, expanding her swarm to such a vast and unprecedented amount that most people fled back into their homes as soon as they saw what could have imitated a biblical plague.

* * *

No one knew what happened. That made it difficult for the authorities to corral the public into order. As much as the police, PRT and the Protectorate tried to safeguard shops and halt looters from spreading further chaos, they were severely outmanned for the task. So they relied on the villains to keep control over their core territories.

As for the Merchants? They actually _joined _the rioters, forgetting the Endbringer truce entirely and reveling in the loss of order. It took several forceful Protectorate and New Wave showings to scurry them off in the holes they no doubt occupied.

The chaos lasted until sunset. With no street lights to keep vision steady, night time was distinctively more unpleasant. What most citizens took for granted after hours was now abruptly gone, and no one dared to roam in the dark. The few people who ignored common sense and used flashlights or their cars to illuminate their way were deftly turned back by fliers such as Glory Girl and Purity.

The heroes and villains had been successful in reestablishing a measure of civility, but with no power and failing water, this could quickly shatter.

That was why Armsmaster called for an extraordinary meeting of capes. To minimize the risk of collateral damage such a gathering might provoke, he held the meeting in the Boat Graveyard and invited only the minimal amount of parahumans.

Kaiser arrived first. Purity floated besides him in an unmistakably bright form.

Lung came alone, confident he could hold off everyone else by himself.

Skidmark and Squealer loudly proclaimed their arrival with the roar of the female Tinker's monster truck. As much as Armsmaster wanted to squash them on sight, he couldn't afford to let them out of this discussion.

The minor factions arrived along the way. Parian, New Wave, Uber and Leet, Faultline, the Travelers and even the Undersiders came, just as he hoped.

"Thank you for coming." Armsmaster began. "I'm sure everyone knows what happened, so I can spare you the explanation."

Most people nodded. Skidmark spat on the ground. "The Smurf fucked us over."

"That is.. correct. We don't know exactly what she did and how she did it, but the end result is that Brockton Bay and its surrounding locale has been displaced to a different Earth. We're still not sure whether we've traveled back or forwards in time, but we are reasonably sure that this is the same location, just on an alternate Earth. Obviously not Earth Aleph."

A short moment of silence ensued as Armsmaster confirmed all their worst fears.

"Is.. is there any way to go back?" Sundancer asked almost hopefully.

"The short answer is no."

Most of them expected this answer as well.

"So now what?"

Armsmaster grimaced, but Tattletale's grin grew wider. "Oh I see what you're up to Armsie. You've been a busy boy. Does Miss Piggy know about this?"

He glared at her, cowing her for now.

"Then tell us." Lung growled.

"We are in an unprecedented crisis situation." Armsmaster explained. "If we want to avoid the city going down in flames and letting people starve, we have to pull together and work to replace our missing infrastructure. But we can't do this if we're uncoordinated or worse, working against each other."

"You don't mean.."

"I'm telling you all to let our divisions go and unite as one. Only as one team of parahumans can we restore essential services and survive the next winter."

"No." Kaiser objected immediately. "I am not going to give up our territory and work together with washed out refugees like Lung."

"This 'washed-out refugee' can roast you in your armor any time you want." Lung warned, and pulsed a flame in his hand. "And I'm not going to let anyone dictate terms to me. If anything, I should rule this city. You may challenge me if you disagree."

That turned this meeting into an ugly turn. Armsmaster felt all semblance of control going right down the drain as Lung and Kaiser egged on everyone else.

"Ahem! If I can have your attention!" Tattletale shouted, and strangely enough everyone turned questioningly at the teenager. "Armsmaster is right. There's no way in hell the city's going to last a month if this trainwreck keeps going. But there's also no chance any of us will hold hands and sing happy little campfire songs. The Protectorate and the Wards alone can't keep the entire city under check."

"Then what's your solution?"

"It's simple. We'll still work together for the most essential stuff, like electricity and water. We also have to present a united front to the outside world, if this version of Earth is even populated. The Protectorate and the PRT will take the lead there. But for the most part, all things related turf-wide will be the sole responsibility of the gangs who currently control it. The land is yours as long as you can keep your people alive and fed. It'll be your own little kingdom."

An explosion of protest followed, not that Tattletale was discouraged.

"That's insane." Coil responded first with shaking breath. "Brockton Bay will follow the path of East and West Berlin all over again."

But Tattletale had a ready answer for that. "Then force the gangs to keep the flow of people unhindered. If their own people want to live elsewhere, then they better get off their lazy butts and improve their turf. A little competition won't hurt. "

While the gangs were uneasy at this proposal, the heroes were livid. "The Protectorate will be sidelined by this agreement."

"On the contrary. It's actually a benefit for you guys if you let most of the territory go. They're a distraction. You're the only faction everyone can trust to focus on the common good. Essential stuff like running the utilities or providing food. If any of you have a better solution, then you're welcome to suggest it, Armsie."

Skitter and a few other level-headed capes had the feeling that despite all the disagreements, things would go exactly as Tattletale described.

Brockton Bay might very well be carved apart on the first day of its arrival.


	2. Founding 2

**City in the Bay of Time**

Founding 1.2

* * *

"No."

Director Piggot grew more and more irate at Armsmaster's intransigence. "Did you just disobey a direct order?"

"The normal regulations don't apply right now. We are still operating under post-Endbringer truce conditions. I acted quickly according to my best judgment and concluded we needed to move before the villains could come up with something on their own."

"And look how that turned out." Piggot growled. How could Armsmaster go so off the rails by endorsing this proposal to split Brockton Bay into fiefdoms? As if they were living in the Middle Ages! "Miss Militia? You were there too. What do you have to say for yourself?"

The woman stood uncomfortably. "It's not the best solution, but it's the only one that brings the villains on board. The only reason the Empire and the ABB held back before this crisis is because the Protectorate is more than what we had in Brockton Bay. Now that we're cut off from the Triumvirate and the rest, they know we can't call in the heavy guns. They have us over a barrel if they decide to unite against any attempts we make to impose our rules."

"From what I gather of this report," Piggot rapped her hand on the thin sheets of papers on her desk. "The two of you didn't try very hard. If I didn't know any better, I might suspect you are deliberately undermining the PRT's authority."

But what was done was done. If Piggot pushed too hard, she might very well make this a self-fulfilling prophecy. _'This isn't over yet, Armsmaster.'_

"Let's move on then." The director said, mercifully changing the subject. "Since we can tentatively rely on the gangs to watch over their own territory, I'll be detaching a quarter of our active duty personnel to scout our new surroundings. There are already dragons flying about, so there might be worse out in the wilderness. Miss Militia, I'd like you to take charge of the scouting expedition. We need a resourceful cape like you to lead the endeavor, especially if we meet.. any indigenous inhabitants."

"Understood, ma'am."

"As for you, Armsmaster, I see you have already made plans?"

"Yes, ma'am." The man nodded tersely, plainly making it clear he'd rather be elsewhere doing something useful. "I'm working to get our basic utilities up again. Our main priority is getting power up and running again. With power back online, the local salt water treatment facility will provide running water again, so long as Panacea makes certain we can safely filter this Earth's ocean water. If we—"

"'We', Armsmaster?"

The Tinker grimaced at that question. "I can't complete such a major project alone in such short notice. I have several ideas that could provide the city with more than enough power, but I'd need a month to assemble all the pieces and gather resources that we can't easily scrounge up from scratch. But, I have been discussing this problem with other Tinkers, and I have determined that at least one of them is capable of building a device that can power the entire city within a day. With my assistance we can work fast enough that most of the food the city has in frozen storage won't spoil from the heat."

Director Piggot quickly cycled through the names. Bakuda was a recent addition, and the file she read stated that the young Japanese woman could produce bombs of frightening exotic complexity. Yet the odds that she would produce something that wouldn't blow up the moment it turned on were low. At least in the short term.

Leet on the other hand might be capable of building a working power plant. Might. But then again, it might also explode as badly as any of Bakuda's creations. No one in their right mind would trust Leet to provide the city with its energy needs. Besides, Leet would probably need as much time as Armsmaster to accomplish such a feat.

That left only one Tinker remaining in Brockton Bay…

"Squealer is ironically the most suited Tinker for the job." That admission alone was difficult for Armsmaster to mumble out. "She has expensive experience in creating working machines with nothing more than junkyard parts and whatever she can salvage out of the Boat Graveyard or steal from household electronics stores. Her technology is more low-tech and robust than anything the other Tinkers can create. It's going to be big and ugly, but she promised she can have it up and running by the end of the day."

"I sense a _but_ coming…"

"Unfortunately, Squealer is aware of her bargaining position and won't do any of it without cost. Still, I – and those present yesterday night – managed to trim down her excessive list of demands. I think we can work with the most realistic terms left."

_'Shoot me now.'_ Piggot mentally thought.

* * *

"Please shoot me now." Alec moaned dramatically. "I don't want to live on this planet anymore."

The only projectile he got was a pillow to his face.

"Oh you showoff." Taylor said tiredly. "It's just a power outage."

"B-B-But no television. No X-Box. No microwave pizza! Oh the humanity! If cavemen in the Stone Age lived like this, it's no wonder they were bashing clubs over each other's heads all the time."

Ignoring his overly sensational teammate, Grue headed over to the couch and sat next to Tattletale who was currently deeply engrossed with a letter. "Okay Tattletale, I give up. Enough smirking around. Spill. What does the boss want, and what's going to happen to us?"

"Ouch!" Taylor shrieked. "Don't pull my hair!"

"Ugh ugh ugh. Me caveman. Me pull hair of women."

Alec quickly came to regret that action when a few spiders crawled closely to his manhood. "You picked the wrong cavewoman!"

Smiling wistfully at Alec's antics, Tattletale said, "For now, we play along. We keep hold of our little slice of territory, as empty as it currently is, and wait for opportunities to help. It won't be long before our talents are put to better use."

Grue gripped his fist, clenching and unclenching it with nervous energy. "I just.. it feels so useless."

"Don't be." She responded easily, bumping her fist against his much more solid shoulder. "There's loads of other tasks we're suited for. There's more to our powers if you start to think how we can apply them outside a fight against other capes. We're all suitable for crowd control, for instance. We can disperse riots without killing a few people. Same with the natives when they show up. Actually, we're not that bad in the wilderness. But we're also useful in securing food supplies. It won't be long before someone comes knocking on our door."

"You mentioned natives. Do you really think there's other humans out there?"

"Oh, a world like this? It's gotta be populated. The Simurgh wouldn't be much of a bitch if she sent us to a sleepy mudball."

"Did you just call me?" Rachel said, looking up from her attempts to reassure her dogs. They were behaving restlessly all day now due to the tense atmosphere and unfamiliar air.

"Sorry, not meant for you." Lisa then turned back to Grue. "Anyway, forget about shenanigans like bank robberies and casino heists. This is so much bigger now. Our boss won't dare to rile up the other gangs. Instead, putting our powers to new use is the new name of the game now. If we don't show any willingness to contribute to the collective well-being of the city, we'll be sidelined. Just think about who we have to compete against."

Brian put some serious thought there. "The Tinkers can cobble up much of the technology we need. Panacea will keep us healthy like she always has. The ABB.. they're pure firepower. The Empire.. shit, Kaiser can pretty much summon up as much metal as he wants. They even come as swords so he can readily arm his men. He can swarm the rest of the city if he arms everyone under his territory with his swords."

As an individual who did not fit into Kaiser's worldview, that thought alone made Brian very uncomfortable.

"Exactly. It's not about firepower anymore. Lung is still the biggest badass around right now, but he's jack shit in stuff like providing food or working technology to the people of his territory. On the other hand, even clowns like Squealer and Leet will soon realize they hold an oligopoly on several things the city needs but only they can provide. It's going to be a very tense few weeks while everyone slowly comes to terms with the changes in the balance of power."

"And come to terms with no Mass Effect 3!"

"Shut up Alec!"

* * *

Panacea did the best she could with the last of the patients in the general hospital. With the normal deluge of 'tourists' abruptly cut off, she found herself with the unfamiliar luxury of having nothing else to do. The patients still in the hospital were cases she couldn't do anything about, such as brain injuries or instances where she wasn't needed, like child births.

The hospital and clinics needed the relief. With the power grid shut down, they were all running on emergency generators, and they could only run for so long without outside assistance. In addition, some of the medical supplies that doctors previously used routinely were now incredibly scarce goods. Sure, Brockton Bay still had some of Medhall's production facilities to keep a few medicines flowing, but Panacea had no idea if they still had access to the raw materials needed in the production. Some things will start to grow very scarce..

_'I can't do anything about synthetic drugs right now, but I can easily replicate biopharmaceuticals. Things like hormones, vaccines, anti-biotics.'_

But if Amy did that, she'd expose the fact that she held back on her powers. That she could create rather than just heal. That she could change people's brains rather than pretend she was powerless to do so.

She hunched over and wrung her hands with anxious tension. _´I can't do that. Not now. I'll find a way.. eventually. When it's needed. Hopefully Medhall can adjust their production and cope with the changes.'_

After a while, Amy checked out of the hospital and waited by the parking lot. _'Where's Vicky? She was supposed to come by around this time to fly her back home.'_

A sudden mass of flesh and meat and bone and scale just POUNCED right in front of her, giving the healer the biggest fright in her life. A DRAGON of all things landed right in front of her, all claws and fangs and—

"AAMMMYY!"

A figure leapt from the Dragon's stubby neck and landed gracefully in front of Panacea. Despite the sheer speed and force of the maneuver, Victoria ended up hugging Amy in a firm but gentle embrace.

"V-Vicky! T-T-That's a dragon!"

"Of course it's a dragon." Glory Girl beamed, letting her sister to and pointing excitedly at the curious but still menacing-looking creature. "So I was flying all night on patrol and drunk loads of coffee to keep going so I flew around for more patrols but then the alarm on my phone went off oh remind me to recharge it in the hospital because the power at home is out oh back the story so I headed to the hospital to pick you up and I was flying past a flock of dragons and I was like 'oh so cute!' and they didn't bite me or anything as I approached them so I went close and went all 'aahhh' and this guys was like uh.. I don't remember.. but then I went back to 'cute cute cute' so I hopped on his neck and it was really WHEEEEEEEEEEE so can I keep it can I keep it can I keep it?"

"Vicky?"

"Yes Amy?" Vicky bounced like the most exciting beach ball in the world.

"You should really go to sleep."


	3. Founding 3

**City in the Bay of Time**

Founding 1.3

* * *

Armsmaster wanted to carve out his eyes. Just entering Squealer's workshop sounded off so many alarms in his mind. How tools just lay about haphazardly, some of them even rusting in plain sight. Nobody ever cleaned up around here obviously, as millions of dust particles and other junk floated freely in the air. If his own workshop was as dirty as this, half of his equipment would never even work.

Supervising Squealer's work was an exercise in patience. The way she played so loose with tolerances was abominable. The materials she used were so substandard that even an unpowered craftsman could do better. Yet miraculously the power plant she cobbled up together didn't seem to fall apart.

"It's all done!" She finally proclaimed loudly, and patted the house-sized block of metal and junk like an affectionate puppy. "Just flip this switch and it'll run smooth as a druggie on meth!"

Colin grunted, and made a couple of checks. He didn't even try to understand the monstrosity Squealer built, instead verifying that the connections he and his team of specialists from the PRT were robust enough to shunt enough energy to feed an entire city. If anything went wrong, it wouldn't be on him. After making sure his work was up to par, he nodded.

"Activate the plant."

Surprisingly enough, Squealer didn't have to kick the machine to get it into gear. A loud wrenching noise erupted deep from within, before being replaced with a smoother pattern. Armsmaster turned his gaze outward and saw the city coming back to life just a bit as street lights and other signs flared brightly.

"It worked."

"Fucking A! I told ya I could do it!"

"We're the boss now." Skidmark celebrated as he slapped his girlfriend's back. "No one gonna mess with us as long as we're supplying the juice. This city's gonna be ours."

That brought a smirk on the hero's face as he left the Merchants to their devices. _'You're not the only capes in town who can generate power. Soon enough the Protectorate will have their own power source up.'_

There was no way he was going to let a single gang monopolize on something as essential as electricity. The Merchants may have it good now, but in a week or a month it would be a different story.

Still, competition and contingencies might be well and good, but the reality was that the city had a lot more on its plate. Brockton Bay counted three hundred and fifty thousand souls among its population. The few farms that came with the city proper could never hope to feed the city through the end of the month, let alone through winter. Once people realize their favorite pork chops and McDonald's hamburgers were gone, they'd be clamoring for something else on their plates. Starvation was a very real possibility if the city couldn't get its act together.

'_I just hope they don't do anything stupid like shooting down a dragon.'_

The creatures still unnerved him. They seemed intelligent, but not sentient. They were obviously carnivores but he had not directly seen them prey on anything so far. Did that mean they were unfamiliar to humans, and simply curious how they behaved? Or did the carnivores in fact know all about humans, and simply regarded them as a non-threat?

Many myths, legends and fantasies surrounded these dragons. But because they were portrayed so wildly apart from each other, Armsmaster had no solid information to go on. For now, he had more pressing matters to address. With power and other basic services back online, they could begin the next step.

* * *

When Mayor Christner had been elected to his current post, he knew he had a tough time on his hands. But Brockton Bay was his city. He knew what he was getting into when he campaigned on the promise to steward the city and its people in a new direction.

Now he had to do it all over again. Cut off from wider civilization, the city was on the brink of total collapse. Already he had seen the signs. The police were overstretched. The PRT and the heroes were impotent to villain land grabs. The city council was both bitterly divided in different ideologies and utterly delusional in what they thought they could impose. As if the Azn Bad Boys would obediently crawl back the hole they came to and give up all the territory in the Docks just because the council finally managed to pass an ordinance.

This was a new world now, one where people would start to question the rules and wonder whether they still applied. If certain individuals went too far with their inquiries, it was possible that they'd come to the conclusion that democracy was a luxury that they couldn't afford and that might made right.

Christner wasn't going to give up the city without a fight.

"The cameras will be live in 3, 2, 1—"

"My fellow Brocktoners." He began, keeping his customary public smile off his face due to the seriousness of this announcement. "These are the facts. The Simurgh has attacked our fine city. She sought to remove us from Earth Bet, and she succeeded. But we are merely lost, not dead, nor brainwashed."

"Do not consider this the end of the world. Instead, regard this event as a clean slate. We are removed from the perils of our old world and free to make a new beginning for ourselves. Earth Bet lives on inside each of us and I refuse to let fear and indecision devolve us into savages. We cannot lose hold of our principles and values for short-term survival. The sum of human advancement is at our fingertips, and we do not have to turn back to outdated models of governance such as feudalism and tyranny to keep our city in working order."

"Remember that our city was founded by Captain Brockton many years ago. He started out with wooden ships and primitive technology, yet he and his pioneers successfully tamed the American wilderness and cultivated a thriving colony that would become one of many jewels of New England. As our ancestors have done so once before, we can do again. "

"It is true that we no longer enjoy many goods and services we took for granted. We can no longer go online and order a product from a company on the other side of the continent and have it delivered next door. We can no longer rely on the protection of our state or the federal government to keep our borders safe. The truth of the matter is that we have to start doing things_ourselves_, with our own two hands."

"In order for us to adjust to this new world, things will have to change. This is not the time for any of us to be selfish. The superheroes and supervillains of Brockton Bay have already made the first step, and have ceased all active conflict between themselves. They have buried much of their animosity and gone out of hiding in order to put their powers to more productive use. As fellow citizens, we must follow their example and do likewise in seeking out new opportunities to make ourselves useful no matter whether we can fly or not. We must pull together."

"Many more changes have to be made. Yet our current way of running our society is grossly inadequate to the challenges we face. I am therefore calling out certain distinguished scholars and professionals to form a special committee to address these matters and form a new system of governance that will strike a balance between democracy and action. Above all else, we must prevent irreconcilable differences from partitioning our neighborhoods. Rich or poor, powered or unpowered, everyone has a voice. The stewardship of our city must not be left in the hands of those whose talents are best served elsewhere. "

"Some of the changes will entail disruptions from our normal lives. People have already begun to lose confidence in the US dollar, resorting to bartering physical goods directly. The rich cannot rely on bank accounts that have lost meaning and the poor cannot feed his family if his job is rendered useless due to the transition. A new currency that everyone can rely on will be implemented soon, one which can be earned only through the work you can contribute to the restoration of our city, and not from past savings that have no relevance in this dimension. There is much to do to pitch in, so do not be worried, as long as you are willing and able, there will be many jobs available where you can earn an honest wage."

This bit of news would reassure many citizens, especially the long-term unemployed like the dockworkers. Most of the more well-off would be livid though – Christner essentially wiped out much of their liquid property. But it wasn't as if that had already happened _de facto_. He merely made it official, so that they could move on and build anew. He would at least attempt to respect current property rights, so that the people whose wealth was tied up in productive assets such as houses and companies would maintain their standing.

But what the mayor didn't mention was that the cape scene already operated their own currency of formalized favors. The gangs weren't simply content in their demands to legitimize their rule over their territories; they also had the temerity of asking for compensation in return for their generous efforts to improve the city. The PRT objected to the system and the Protectorate grumbled about it, but in the end the villains went ahead anyway so the heroes had no choice but to take part in the trade of these 'tokens' that took the form of Tinkertech coins that digitally imprinted how, when, and by who it was first earned.

Currently, a single cape could earn one token by volunteering an entire day to patrol and peacekeeping. More substantial benefits to the city – like providing electricity to the entire city – earned vastly more tokens. Right now, the Merchants possessed far more tokens than they could possibly trade away right now, but that would change once the other gangs caught up. Whatever else these tokens might pay for in the future was something that would undoubtedly give him nightmares.

"I know that for many of us, these changes will be unsettling, and many of us want us to remain the same. But that is a naïve outlook. We must adapt before the darkness hidden within our hearts get the better of us. My administration will be hard at work at trying to make this adjustment as painless and seamless as possible. Until these changes are formulated and announced, stay calm and take into account that martial law is still in effect. Thank you for your attention, and good night."

The cameras shut off at the perfect moment, allowing the mayor to sag his shoulders in relief. That was possibly the most stressful moment of his life apart from his election day.

"Was my performance to your satisfaction, Tattletale?"

Grinning wickedly, the teenage supervillain hopped off from the desk and gave him a jaunty thumbs up. "It was more than adequate, Mayor. Keep dancing to my tune and you might keep a sliver of relevance in the new government."

The mayor wanted nothing more than to get rid of the little bitch. Even her presence was unnerving his aides. Yet despite barging into his office uninvited, he couldn't discount the information she brought forward. Having taken a bite of the fruit of knowledge, Christner found he could not resist turning away.

That didn't mean he had to tolerate her all the time. "Get out of my office."

"Sure, sure, whatever you say mayor. But you haven't seen the last of me."

Tattletale left the mayor's hall and stepped outside. After scanning her surroundings to make sure there were no bugs nearby, she flipped up the cellphone from her pocket and made a call.

"Tattletale. I saw the speech." The tinny voice came out of the speaker. "Is the mayor still favorably disposed to your suggestions?"

"Yes, boss. Oh, he thinks he can dig the city out of the hole we're currently in, but he's a fish out of water without my help and he knows it."

"Good. Continue steering him to the best courses of action."

"Do you want to implement something specific?"

Coil gave a short pause over the phone. "Make sure there is a balance in decision-making power between capes and non-capes. I will leave the exact structure up to you. Continue to worm your way into the local government and prove yourself as a valuable advisor. Your influence will be needed later on."

After Tattletale hung up, she mulled over the short conversation. _'That's strange, he's given me a lot of autonomy over the potential future of the city. He's oddly confident that I can deliver the goods without screwing him over.'_

Of course Tattletale would _never_ dream of going against her boss' wishes. She was, after all, his obedient servant. Adopting her trademark vulpine grin, the Lisa started to whistle a happy tune while heading to her next appointment.


	4. Founding 4

**City in the Bay of Time**

Founding 1.4

* * *

There were worst things Taylor could be doing. She could still be attending Winslow High together with all the other teenagers who had nothing better to do even after the transition. Sure, schooling was still important, if not more so in this new world. But if she was honest with herself, she was never destined for academia like her mother. No, she inherited her father's side of things on this matter.

For once in her cape life, she didn't lament her parahuman power. Sure, bug control was a weak and creepy power, but in this new world she could use her powers on something other than beating up other capes. It was easy, too. She simply had to go out at sea and attract the crabs and other primitive life forms that dwelled beneath. To prevent overexploitation, someone organized a couple of old fishing hands into crewing the _Mary Prayer_, a fishing vessel. This allowed Taylor to grab seafood over a much wider area, even if this Earth's native crabs looked and tasted kind of weird.

They only did this for a few days and already Taylor established a routine with the crew. The captain planned the routes, she gathered the sealife and the crew fished them all up. Even without Taylor's power, they could still catch a lot of fish due to the lack of exploitation in this region. She just made it happen faster. The _Mary Prayer_ was catching such a bounty that they made several round trips a day. Each time the ship moved back in dock, she gathered more crabs below the pier, which were all easily fished up and sent to processing.

Since this was the last catch for the day, Taylor waved the captain and the crew goodbye and hopped back on solid ground. A PRT officer waved her over as he worked on a portable machine. It spat out a handful of miniature medallions.

"Here are your tokens for the day."

Skitter grimaced under her mask as she accepted the payment. "That's a little less than what I got yesterday."

"That's because we're securing more food sources. Once we finish expanding our farmland and establishing a working fishing fleet, we'll be a lot more self-sufficient. We don't want to become too dependent on you capes to fulfill our basic needs."

"Good. I don't want to do this forever either."

Securing her payment, Skitter nodded and headed back to the hideout.

"I'm back!"

No one except Tattletale was home, as usual. Grue and Regent were busy patrolling the Undersiders' territory. Not that anything exciting happened here, but they needed to show the flag in order to prevent the heroes and gangs from claiming their turf.

Meanwhile, Bitch had been drafted in training the dogs from her shelter for hunting and scouting. The dogs proved to be useful companions to the scouting party, so long as they treated them well. If not, Bitch often had something to say about it. Violently. Her abrasive behavior earned them plenty of complaints from Miss Militia, but that was a small price to pay for having the best on the job.

"Hey Taylor." Tattletale greeted her as she left her room. "Can you hand me the tokens? The boss has been hounding me all day for those grubby bits."

"Oh?" Taylor raised her eyebrow behind her mask as she handed the goods. "Remind me while we still have a boss in the first place. It seems he needs us a lot more than we need him."

Tattletale put the coins in a sturdy envelope. She sealed it and put it in a bin for outgoing mail. Ever since she started to advise the local institutions, a lot more letters started to pile in that container. The Thinker had been a very busy bee.

"Regent's been asking me the same question every day. Not that he cares a lot. No one is going to bother filming all of the Game of Thrones seasons he's missing out no matter how many tokens he wants to throw at them."

'_And thank God for that.'_ Taylor thought. A token represented a substantial investment that could be used to purchase other favors, like having the Empire Eighty-Eight erect a barrier in their territory, or get Leet to build them a Tinkertech vehicle. In order to prevent the tokens from becoming too prevalent and lose their value, the PRT decided to institute a turf tax that all gangs had to pay to maintain their claim on their lands.

"What's our boss doing with the tokens anyway?"

Lisa pursed her lips. The lack of a grin told Taylor that she wasn't certain. "He's got a lot of fingers on the pie, Taylor. He's definitely not hoarding the tokens. From what I can gather… he's building up defenses, bribing Lung to stay put, securing an awful lot of meat, and that's only what I can deduce right now. Who knows what else he's doing. But we still need him because he's in the big leagues and we don't want him as our enemy."

"That's not much of an explanation, Lisa. Not all of us are Sherlock-like geniuses."

"Just trust me on this, okay?" The blond asked, growing a little annoyed now. "Just because we're not fighting other capes on the streets anymore doesn't mean we're friends with each other. The gangs are still jockeying for power and wealth. People like Kaiser and Lung won't be content to sit behind desks and do paperwork for the rest of their lives. Our boss isn't the type to lead in the front, but he's got a lot of pull in the local government and law enforcement. That's going to be an edge that will be very useful once fighting starts again."

That did not reassure Taylor very much. She was one of the few people in Brockton Bay that actually appreciated the transition. No Endbringers, no Winslow, no cape fights, it was practically paradise. On the other hand, she had to admit she started to feel a bit itchy at the lack of.. of using her power to prove her worth. No matter how many tons of seafood she brought to city, in the end she was still the 'bug cape'. Taylor really itched to make something more out of her life. Hopefully there would be other opportunities.

"Alright, I'll leave it to you for now." Taylor shook her head and removed her mask. "By the way, my dad's coming home late tonight since he's swamped with union business. What's for dinner tonight?"

"Crab."

* * *

"You know we can take it."

"Take what? Bakuda?" Lung rumbled back as he stood in the garden of one of his hideouts.

"The _city_, boss. Alexandria and Eidolon is a couple of dimensional walls away. There's no one left who can stop you. I even planned it all out. Most of the capes in the city have gone out of hiding and started to work in plain sight. Oni Lee and my bombs can take out the easy prey. You can mop up what's left."

Lung's frown deepened at her excited tone as he crossed his arms. He continued to stare upwards, at the flocks of dragons that flew without a care over the streets.

"No."

He liked to stare at the dragons. They flew with lazy confidence, assured that nothing could threaten their dominance, not even the new arrivals below.

"W-What?" Bakuda couldn't believe his answer. "But Brockton Bay is practically yours for the taking!"

It was a pity that someone else interacted with the majestic creatures first. Glory Girl was a vain and petty child, treating the dragons as pets rather than the apex predators they represented.

"You overstep yourself, Bakuda." Lung grumbled and turned an eye towards his lieutenant. That single gesture made her retreat a little. "It was not long ago that I had been defeated by a single cape whose sole power is to control insects."

There was no shame in admitting that. He had only tasted defeat a handful of times in his life. The woman in the business suit. Leviathan. And now this Skitter. But Lung was a patient man, willing to lay low until an opportunity presented itself for him to unleash his power at the best possible time. While his first two opponents were permanently out of his reach, it would be child's play to find and kill off Skitter. But it wouldn't be a challenge. Nor would it satisfy him. Taking over the city was also a waste of time.

Instead, he reached down his pocket and retrieved one of the tokens that everyone obsessed about these days. "Do you see this, Bakuda? Coil sent this to me today. And for all Kaiser's posturing, the Empire Eighty-Eight quietly sent a package to me yesterday. And do you know what? I hadn't asked for their tokens. Yet they send me tribute anyway. Tell me what that means."

"They fear you."

"_Yes_." Lung hissed with something other than a purely human voice. It made his subordinate flinch. "It means I already rule this city. I am not a king. The people do not recognize me as a leader. But they fear me. They fear what I am capable of. So they pay me even though they have to pay the PRT as well. The other heroes and villains know deep within their hearts that if I ever deign to make a play for the city, I will have it no matter how many corpses I have to burn."

Lung had other reasons for staying his hand. But explaining them to Bakuda was an exercise in futility. Tinkers like her only saw the world as a set of tangible objects and logical rules. While he wasn't particularly old, he had moved past these petty struggles. No, he had bigger targets in mind. The city and its self-absorbed capes bored him to be honest. In the old world, the Endbringers served as sufficient distractions. But in this new Earth?

His blood trembled in restrained excitement. Unknown to all save him, he and he alone knew he had something to be excited about. Merely thinking about it sent his blood boiling hot. His body expanded, growing as his anticipation reached heights not achieved since Kyushu. His clothes ripped apart as his body transformed into something other than human.

"Lung!" Bakuda called as the open flames forced her backwards. The other ABB men present likewise stepped back in fearful reverence.

The power flowed through his transcending body like a river flowing through a canyon. Lung beheld the might that was at his fingertips, and diverted just a tiny portion to his vocal chords and _roared_ into the heavens.

The fury behind that primal battlecry shattered the windows of his compound. Its echoes bounced into the streets, causing a quarter of the population to halt in their tracks.

Then the dragons roared back.


	5. Founding 5

**City in the Bay of Time**

Founding 1.5

* * *

Emma Barnes was having a miserable time. Everything was better back at Earth Bet. People admired her for her modeling and her family's wealth. Weaklings like Taylor remained at the bottom of the food pile and all was right with the world.

The transition changed everything. In the first day, when most people were running around like headless chickens, no one knew what to do. Despite the power outage, the citizens tried to live out their old lives as best they could.

That didn't last very long. The first cowards immediately spent all of their cash on buying up truckloads of food. That set off a panic that saw the rest of the city pile into supermarkets and secure their own supply. The police barely maintained order. Demand was so high that most shops had the bright idea of jacking up their prices. That discouraged most people but those left bought the food anyway, only to sell them at even higher prices elsewhere.

No one could afford the food at those ridiculous prices. The poor started to pay with something more solid, something other than fantasy paper from a country too distant to reach. A loaf of bread for a box of tampons. Toilet paper for a bag full of sweets. Even Emma had been forced to let go of her earrings when she wanted to buy up a pack of frozen meat.

Most of the people who were well-off like her father suddenly found most of their wealth meant nothing. Her dad had been prudent with his savings, spreading them out in several bank accounts and investing the remainder in stock. Her father practically broke down in tears that night when he realized his substantial stock portfolio in solid companies such as Shell and General Electric had been rendered meaningless.

Worse, their bank accounts were inaccessible. All local bank branches faced bank runs whenever they opened their vaults, which was stupid since their entire life savings only paid enough for a week's worth of food. While the prices lost some of their ridiculous heights when that villain Skitter starting bringing in crab by the boatful,

In this new brave world, people didn't value past earnings. The dollars resting half-forgotten in her purse was only useful as toilet paper right now. These days, the gangs and greedy shopkeepers only acknowledged what men and women could offer now. The most valuable possession in Brockton Bay right now was not millions dollars in the bank, but food. The longer-lasting, the better. Below that were valuables like jewelry and tools and the like. More than half of Brockton Bay didn't even have that much, so they traded the one thing left that they could do with their own two hands: their manpower.

Luckily enough, once the city calmed down and the authorities started to get things organized, there was plenty of employment available. Bodies were needed to man the mothballed fishing boats and chop down the surrounding forests. It was hard work for little pay, but at least you got food on the table. Her own mother even pitched in and started to join some kind of sewing group under Parian. At least her father didn't have to resort to digging trenches or anything demeaning like that. Even after the transition, lawyers were still needed, even more so now. The pay was much worse, but at least they hadn't lost everything. The Barnes family would climb back from this tragedy, one way or another.

In the meantime, she had to waste time in school. The leaders of the city thought it was not wise to let future generations forget advanced knowledge in the sciences and arts. Still, Emma didn't mind too much. Everyone who attended received free meals, so it was a good way for most parents to dump their kids while they worked. It was better than doing manual labor, like Taylor must undoubtedly be doing.

About a third of the school hadn't bothered to show up these days. Obviously Sophia had more important things to do than waste her talents in school. Gang members likewise ditched school entirely, opting instead to join the expanding gangs. The ABB, E88 and the Merchants all offered plenty of food as well as other substantial benefits in order to cope with their new responsibilities in actually taking care of their turf. That they've been pushed from illegal entities to merely tolerated organisations hadn't hurt their chances either. _'Not that I'm ever going to wear gaudy gang colors.'_

It was all pathetic in the young socialite's eyes. The gangs were all losers taking advantage of the breakdown in society. Pff, Taylor must have joined the Empire or something. She'd fit right in. As for Emma herself? She was destined for greater heights. Her dad had friends in the committees that revised the law and reformed the government. The gangs and other riff raff may rule the streets nowadays, but the elite ruled at the top.

* * *

Lady Photon admired this new Earth's beauty. The lands beyond Brockton Bay stretched for many miles, with large forests and strange new life forms. Each day of patrol led to another day of exploration and adventure. She saw familiar landscapes but overgrown with vegetation. She saw strange new animals and the dragons that preyed on them. Each day she returned to Miss Militia with another recording from the camera fixed over her shoulder.

But if there was one thing Lady Photon could do without, it was her assigned partner. Only her respect for Miss Militia's leadership stayed her protests.

"You've raised some gorgeous kids. I'm envious."

_'There she goes trying to make small talk again.'_ Photon thought, not even hiding her disgust. "I'm not going to fall for your tricks, Nazi."

But Purity was undeterred. "I'm not a villain anymore. The Empire-, we're all turning a new leaf."

"If you want to turn a new leaf, then you should turn yourself in to the Protectorate."

The Empire cape fell silent at that, to Photon Mom's relief. No matter how much the supervillains pretended to be going legal now, she could never forget the deaths they caused in her family. _'They didn't care about my family ten years ago. They're not going to start now.'_

Despite her irritation, Lady Photon was not about to dump Purity to the wayside. Miss Militia only had a limited amount of fliers at her disposal. Sarah would rather endure Purity's small talk herself than subject her children to the Nazi's poison. 'You're not going to make skinheads out of my babies.'

After a placid afternoon of flying, Photon finally halted in the air and brought out a tablet from her backpack. "Alright, we've reached the waypoint. We haven't flown this far from Brockton Bay so be on the lookout."

"On it."

At first glance, both capes saw nothing except the same. Huge forests, gentle hills, placid lakes and panoramic rivers. This was what America looked like in the early days of its colonization, if you'd take out the dragons and other weird wildlife. Yet there was one discordant feature in this idyllic view.

Dotted here and there rested splotches of dark ash. Photon encountered them on the second day of the transition, and when she flew closer, she found out what they represented.

Years ago, intelligent life had settled in these lands. But all they left behind were burned down villages and farmland that was so overgrown that they were indistinguishable from the wildlife. It was a frightening visage. They were not alone. At least one tribe of people – whether they were human, elf or lizardfolk no one knew – made their livelihood on these fertile plains. Then something came along and burned it all to ashes. And that threat – whatever it was – could still be out there, waiting, brooding, preparing.

Suffice to say, the citizens weren't ready to hear the paradise outside the borders presented a false illusion of peace. The desolate sights proved that war could not escape Brockton Bay.

"All seems clear."

After they made sure there were no signs of life, the pair of capes descended into the ruins of one such village. The people upstairs wanted more knowledge, anything that could give them a clue what had happened here and what might be in store for Brockton Bay.

Yet sifting through the wreckage was a depressing task. Even Purity dimmed a bit as she tried to dig through a pile of ashen logs. They found very little things of note in these excavations. The most prevalent were the rusted tools made out of iron that excited the archaeologists back home. They also found a couple of broken pieces of stone that might have been sculptures. These things were merely echoes of a past life, now tragically wiped out.

_'This can't go on forever.'_ Photon thought as she held what looked to be a rock shaped into a very crude dragon. It looked and felt like a toy, something she'd give to her son when he was younger. _'How many miles do we have to fly before this ends?'_

They had to meet civilization eventually. The only question was whether they were part of the people that settled here, or the ones who killed them all and burned their houses.

"Are we done now Photon? I'd like to go back."

"Same here." The hero replied. She was more than done with this place.

* * *

"Good afternoon, gentlemen." Director Piggot greeted her colleagues as she took a seat at the head of the conference table.

The small gathering nodded politely at her entrance. The security committee might nominally advise the mayor regarding threats from without and within, the reality was that they had total say in anything they deemed a matter of concern. And among these esteemed officials, none were more powerful than Piggot.

"Let us start with the perimeter report." Piggot said. "Has there been no sign of outside threats?"

"No new developments. Just ruins and remnants of intelligent life."

Grunting, the Director turned to the police chief. "How's the unrest?"

The man's brows were furrowed, as they had been ever since the transition. "A lot of people are still discontent, but we've locked up enough inciters to prevent any further riots. I'm sure I don't need to add that the threat is still not neutralized. The upper class isn't taking the currency change without a fight. They're going to keep stirring up trouble until you let up and allow them to exchange old dollars for new currency."

That was something that Piggot could handle. She'd rather have a mob of angry plutocrats at her back than open warfare among the capes. "I'm not changing my mind on the matter. We have to jolt the population into productivity and a new start is the only way to convert everyone into this mindset."

Though she had some doubts herself about the measure, Tattletale had been quite effective so far with her suggestions. The city hadn't fallen apart and most citizens were now working for a better future instead of staying stuck in the past.

She then turned to an old colleague of hers. "Alright then Calvert, how's the gang situation."

"It's going well, all-considered." The thin-stick man at the other end at the table reported. "The gangs are too busy chasing tokens than planning to move out or fight for control over the city."

That was a huge relief for Piggot. Even though the legitimization of the gangs strengthened them, they trusted only the Protectorate and PRT to be impartial enough to administrate the city. The villains could have defeated the Protectorate and rule over the city themselves if they banded together against the outnumbered and outgunned Protectorate and New Wave. But that peace would quickly shatter into all-out war without a mediating factor. They'd be much worse off than before.

The only other major threat that remained was if any gang or any cape moved out on their own. That would have been an outright disaster that would assuredly precipitate a future war between the factions. No, the only way to secure Brockton Bay's unity was to co-opt the gangs and give them the illusion of control. She just had to do it subtly. Pride and a lifetime of defiance against authority wouldn't let the gangs subordinate themselves under the PRT. But controlling the less visible things behind the scenes would let the PRT keep in firm control of the situation. As they had always done so before the transition.

"Keep monitoring the situation closely." Piggot nodded as she examined a couple of papers. "Keep an especially close eye on the Empire Eighty-Eight. Out of all the gangs, they can best build up an independent settlement from nothing if they remain united. Their ideology is also the kind that is the most adverse to the continued cooperation we have right now."

Calvert let out a small laugh. "I wouldn't worry too much about that. The E88 lack both a tinker and a food producing cape. They're staying put."

Director Piggot grimaced. "For now. There might always be new triggers."

"Hmm, true. We might also see shifts in allegiance and the forming of alliances between the smaller factions."

New triggers were an especially acute concern and gave Piggot nightmares. So far, there had been no new reported triggers. The transition had evidently not been traumatic enough to warrant one. But a powerful one in the hands of a gang might alter the balance of power that existed right now.

After hearing a couple of other routine reports, Piggot moved the meeting on to a contentious topic.

"Now that we have all that out of the way, let's discuss cape representation. Armsmaster is reporting that Kaiser and Lung both want a more official leadership position to decide matters specific to parahumans."

"That's ridiculous. We already tolerate their gang presence."

"We should throw them a bone, though. Establishing some kind of cape council with an equal amount of heroes and villains will engage them more to the welfare of the city."

"Or allow them to take over entirely."

Sighing to herself, Piggot braced herself for a long discussion. Arguments were thrown back and forth, but the topic was too polarizing for the committee members to come to a comfortable consensus.

The voices halted when an assistant intruded into the conference room.

The haggard-looking PRT officer looked distressed. "Director, I'm sorry to interrupt but we have an emergency situation. One of the fishing vessels is overdue. We've been trying to contact her on the radio but we're only getting silence."

With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Piggot asked, "Which boat?"

"The _Mary Prayer_, ma'am. The one with Skitter onboard."


End file.
